


Lady Bonding

by ShakeThatCocktail



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, Coffee, Drinking Games, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fuck Marry Kill, Garcia Is A Menace, Girl Power, Humor, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Wine is Dangerous, Workplace Romance, girls night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29987646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShakeThatCocktail/pseuds/ShakeThatCocktail
Summary: Garcia tricks you into confessing your feelings about Spencer to the girls during some long overdue "lady bonding" time...
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Reader, Spencer Reid/You
Kudos: 46





	Lady Bonding

"Cheers to lady bonding!" Garcia accounced, raising her wine glass above the crowded coffee table in Emily's apartment.

"Finally!" JJ concluded, and you all made noises of agreement, raising your glasses too. A ladies' night had been in high demand for weeks, but so had serial killers, so the coveted time the ladies of the BAU spent together had been pushed back and back until the Universe had finally felt like you deserved it. You, Tara, JJ, Emily, Garcia, and Tara were crowded around Emily's coffee table, surrounded by crumpled napkins, half empty pizza boxes, and wine bottles. You and Emily had one end of the couch each, with Tara, JJ, and Garcia seated on thick, neutral tone cushions on the floor. The pantsuits and blouses had been swapped out for yoga pants and bralettes, tank tops and oversized t-shirts. Comfort was key for successful "lady bonding".

"Okay, what game are we playing first?" JJ asked, daintily picking a mushroom off her pizza slice and dropping it back in the box. "I was promised games."

"Oh! Oh!" Let's play Fuck, Marry, Kill!" Emily exclaimed, flapping a hand at her friends. "I haven't played it in years!"

"What are we, sixteen?" you asked, laughing. "But whatever, I'm in."

"Me too," Tara announced, and JJ and Garcia nodded. "JJ, you're first," she decided. "Rossi, Matt...and Luke. Go."

"You didn't even include my husband! He counts as part of the BAU, right?!" JJ exclaimed.

"What fun would that be?" Tara argued, and you snorted into your pizza slice.

JJ's shoulders sagged and she sat in silence for a moment, considering her options. The rest of you watched her, expectantly. "Fuck Luke, marry Matt, and kill Rossi?" she finally offered.

"I'll accept that," Tara approved, tipping her glass in JJ's direction. "As much as I love Rossi's cooking, I love seeing Matt with Kristy."

"And don't forget Luke's got some serious biceps," you added eagerly, taking a large bite of pepperoni.

"They're not that special," Garcia snipped, and you and JJ shared a look. Garcia was as bad at hiding crushes as she was at keeping secrets. Your phone beeped in your pocket, and you set your wine down on the edge of the table to dig it out. Your heart did a flip when you saw Reid's name light up your screen, and you eagerly swiped on the message. It wasn't unusual for him to text you, let alone text you late at night, and it was never anything untoward. It was always some random fact, or an observation from the day. Something that made him think of you. ( _"I know your tell. I saw it today." "I don't have a tell...but what is it?" "Not telling." "I hate you." "No, you don't."_ )

"Ooh, who put that smile on your face?" JJ teased, leaning in from her spot on the floor in front of you to catch a glimpse of your phone screen.

"It's Reid," you replied, hoping you sounded nonchalant enough. "Looks like the boys are having a boys' night. They're all at Rossi's, playing poker."

"Why would any of them willingly play poker with Reid?" Garcia asked, confused, finishing off the last of her wine before reaching for the half-empty bottle on the table for a top up.

"He's not playing," you clarified, scrolling through the message. "He's watching for cheating."

"Alvez is a cheat at poker," Emily confirmed, knowingly.

"Okay, okay, my turn to choose!" Garcia singsonged, casting a devious eye across her friends, searching for her next victim. "Y/N! You're up!" You sat upright at the sound of your name, your hips wobbling as you shifted on the soft couch cushions to reach for your wine.

"Alright, give me your worst, Penelope," you challenged, taking a sip for courage.

"Fuck, marry, kill..." she paused for dramatic effect, tapping her chin with a thoughtful, orange-manicured finger. "Reid, Reid, or Reid?"

You narrowed your eyes at the analyst as the room around you exploded.

"Wait, that's not how this works!" Emily cried.

"Reid?!" JJ exclaimed, around a mouthful of pizza.

"Hang on, you have a thing for Reid?" Tara asked, looking at you in surprise.

You wished the couch cushions would suddenly open up and swallow you whole, never to be seen again, but they did no such thing.

"You are a dead woman, Penelope Garcia," you threatened, sinking back into the couch. The blonde preened from the other side of the coffee table, revelling in the chaos she had caused. "You are no longer my friend."

"Ha! Lies!" Garcia crowed.

"You have a thing for Reid?" Tara asked again, and your palms suddenly felt clammy. 

"I may have a slight...thing...for Reid," you confessed into your pizza slice, unsure of what word to use. 'Crush' was too middle school, 'desire' was too corny. 'Thing' worked. You rolled your eyes at your friends' whoops and jeers, jabbing Emily in the thigh with your foot as you tried to disappear into the collar of your t-shirt. "Give it a rest, will you?" you asked, exasperated. "By the way, how did you know?" you hissed at Garcia.

"Oh honey, it's so obvious," she replied, giggling with glee, and you felt heat flare in your cheeks. "Maybe not to the rest of you," she said, addressing your friends, "but it is to me."

"So when did this start?" Tara asked, brushing pizza crust crumbs from the front of her AC/DC t-shirt. You shrugged, suddenly feeling bashful. You hadn't discussed your "thing" for Spencer out loud before.

"I dunno," you replied, shrugging, scratching at the back of your neck. Weird, it only ever itched when you felt flustered. "Think I've always had a thing for smart guys, but maybe when he cut his hair? That's when it got pretty bad."

"Awh, she likes the boyband hair!" Emily cooed, and you jabbed at her again, careful not to jostle her arm and splash red wine on her cream couch.

"Spencer and Y/N, sittin' in a tree..." JJ sing-songed, ducking with a laugh when you threw a greasy napkin at her.

"You're all enjoying this way too much," you griped. "I hate you all."

\-----

"So how was ladies' night?" Luke asked, handing you your Lunacorn coffee as he perched on the edge of your desk. "Anything you wanna share with the angel who just bought you your lifeline?"

"While I'm grateful for the coffee, you know I'm sworn to secrecy," you answered, immediately taking a long drink, and you chuckled as Luke waved at you in disbelief as he returned to his own spot. You set your cup down and cradled your head in your hands, closing your eyes and flexing your palms to massage the sides of your head. Garcia hadn't arrived yet with your rations of Gatorade, paracetamol, and whatever the hell that horrific green juice was she made you all drink, and you weren't sure how long you were going to last. Your stomach still felt heavy with all the grease and carbs you'd eaten the night before.

"Here, thought you could use this." You jumped at the sound of Spencer's voice beside you, immediatley regretting the movement as your temples thumped. You winced as you watched him carefully a place an FBI mug of coffee on your desk.

"Oh, thanks, Reid," you said, "but Luke already brought me a coffee?"

"I know," Reid replied casually, shrugging, "but I have a feeling you're going to need more than just one coffee to start functioning again given your regular level of caffeine consumption.”

You chuckled as you watched him make his way to his desk, his own coffee in hand and small smile on his face. A quick scan of your colleagues' desks showed only the coffee from Lunacorn, and you preened a little. You were the only one he'd made coffee for. He was wearing the lavendar shirt that day, a personal favourite of yours, with the charcoal cardigan over the top, the sleeves neatly rolled up to expose his forearms. If you weren't hanging so badly, and the lights didn't seem so bright, you might've stared a little longer.

"Whose got the coffee?" Emily demanded as she bowled through the glass office doors, drawing your attention. She was still wearing her sunglasses, and her hair was frizzy. She gratefully accepted her coffee from Luke as she passed him, blowing him a kiss. "Hey, Y/N, doesn't Spencer's hair look cute today?" Emily asked, ruffling Spencer's hair as she walked behind his chair to her desk. You gave her a withering look over the rim of your mug. Clearly, she was not hungover enough if she could poke at you, and you glared at Tara when she snorted.

"What's wrong with my hair?" Reid asked defensively, running a hand through his curls. It had started to grow out, now no longer so short in the back, but you liked the way the ends curled around the tops of his ears.

"Nothing's wrong with your hair, Reid," you replied quickly, immediatley dropping your eyes to study the files in front of you with mock interest.

"Hey, Reid? Are you ever going to cut your hair short again?" Emily called from her desk, leaning her chin on her hand. You didn't need to look at her to know she was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Yeah, like do the whole 'boyband hair' thing again?" JJ chimed in, from where she was perched on Tara's desk.

"What's going on? Why do you keep talking about my hair?" Reid demanded, and you groaned quietly to yourself, digging the heels of your hands into your eyes. As much as you loved them, your friends could be real bitches sometimes.

"I bring supplies, my lovelies!" Garcia announced as she tottered into the bullpen, looking as colourful as ever, and you shot up from your desk.

"Oh, thank God!" you gushed, grabbing your cure from her and escaping to the kitchen, leaving the sounds of your co-workers' laughter behind you. You tucked yourself in next to the fridge and gulped down the disgusting, green concotion Garcia swore could get rid of any hangover, popping a few paracetamols between swallows. You stared at the drink balefully, wishing it was the coffee you'd left on your desk.

"That bad, huh?"

You looked up to see Reid staring at the drink in your hand, grimacing.

"You wanna try?" you asked, holding out the cup towards him, and Spencer lifted a hand to decline. You didn't blame him.

"Did you have fun last night?" he asked, and you shrugged.

"Up to a point," you mumbled, taking another sip and immediately regretting it. Your head was still pounding, but you could feel the paracetamol begin to take the edge off.

"Is that why JJ and Emily are being so weird?" Spencer looked over his shoulder at your colleagues, you following his eyes. The two of them were huddled together conspiratorially, and they both waved enthusiastically at you when they noticed you looking. With Reid's back still turned, you flipped them the finger, quickly pulling your hand back before he saw.

You took in a deep breath, placing your juice down on the counter beside you as Reid turned back to look at you. "Wine was had, things were said last night, and these are the consequences," you sighed.

"What did you guys talk about?"

"Sworn to secrecy, Reid," you shrugged, offering him a small smile. "Sorry."

"Is it something to do with my hair...?" he probed, and you dared to look at him. The nape of your neck began to itch, and you tried to scratch it subtely. A small smirk tugged at the corner of Reid's lips, and you narrowed your eyes at him.

"What're you smirking at?" you asked, suspicious.

"Nothing," he replied, shrugging, his face the picture of serenity. You didn't believe it for a second. "Do you think I should cut my hair?"

You raised your eyebrows at him in mild surprise. "I like your hair whatever you do with it," you replied, trying your best to sound impartial. But, once the words were out, you realised how partial you actually sounded. You'd all but admitted the teasing in the bullpen that morning was to do with whatever you'd said the night before. Reid's smirk grew, and you looked down at the floor, aware of the heat growing in your cheeks "I need my coffee," you said abruptly, pushing off the kitched counter and grabbing at your juice before walking past your colleague.

"I saw your tell again, by the way," he said casually, teasing, as he fell into step beside you.

"I don't have a tell!" The back of your neck began to smart again, and you clenched your hand into a fist. You reached your desk first, grabbing for the coffee he'd made you earlier and taking a gulp. It had gone cold in your absence, and you grimaced at the lukewarm beverage. But it was caffeine, and you didn't really care at that moment.

Reid laughed at the look on your face, and took the mug from your hands. "I'll make you another one," he promised, turning back towards the kitchen. You watched him go, your heart skipping a beat.


End file.
